Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu

Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu
, originally called , is a Japanese martial art that first became widely known in the early 20th century under the headmastership of Takeda Sōkaku. Takeda had extensive training in several martial arts (including Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū and Sumo) and referred to the style he taught as "Daitō-ryū" (literally, "Great Eastern School"). Although the school's traditions claim to extend back centuries in Japanese history there are no known extant records regarding the ryū before Takeda. Whether Takeda is regarded as either the restorer or the founder of the art, the known history of Daitō-ryū begins with him. Takeda's best-known student was Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido.
History
Daitō-ryū (also known as simply Aiki-jūjutsu) is mostly considered to be a fighting style created by the Seiwa Minamoto clan, and handed down from generation to generation. It was Shinra Saburo Minamoto Yoshimitsu the one who compiled all its teachings around the 11th century. Shinra Saburō Minamoto no Yoshimitsu (新羅 三郎 源 義光, 1045–1127) was a Minamoto clan samurai and member of the Seiwa Genji (the branch of the Minamoto family descended from the 56th imperial ruler of Japan, Emperor Seiwa). Yoshimitsu studied and researched the techniques handed down in his family in more detail. It is also believed that Yoshimitsu dissected the corpses of men killed in battle, studying their anatomy for the purpose of learning techniques for joint-locking and atemi-waza (nerve striking). Daitō-ryū takes its name from the mansion that Yoshimitsu lived in as a child, called , in Ōmi Province (modern day Shiga Prefecture).
Yoshimitsu eventually settled down in Kai Province (modern day Yamanashi Prefecture), and passed on what he learned within his family. Ultimately, Yoshimitsu's great-grandson Nobuyoshi adopted the surname "Takeda", which has been the name of the family to the present day. The Takeda family remained in Kai Province until the time of Takeda Shingen (武田 信玄, 1521–1573). Shingen opposed Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga in their campaign to unify and control all of Japan. With the death of Shingen and his heir, Takeda Katsuyori (武田 勝頼, 1546–1582), the Takeda family relocated to the Aizu domain (an area comprising the western third of modern-day Fukushima Prefecture).
Though these events caused the Takeda family to lose some of its power and influence, it remained intertwined with the ruling class of Japan. More importantly, the move to Aizu and subsequent events profoundly shaped what would emerge as Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu in the 19th century. One important event was the adoption of Tokugawa Ieyasu's grandson, Komatsumaru (1611–1673), by Takeda Kenshoin (fourth daughter of Takeda Shingen). Komatsumaru devoted himself to the study of the Takeda family's martial arts, and was subsequently adopted by Hoshina Masamitsu. Komatsumaru changed his name to Hoshina Masayuki (保科 正之), and in 1644 was appointed the governor of Aizu. As governor, he mandated that all subsequent rulers of Aizu study the arts of Ono-ha Ittō-ryū (which he himself had mastered), as well as the art of oshikiuchi, a martial art which he developed for shogunal counselors and retainers, tailored to conditions within the palace. These arts became incorporated into and combined with the Takeda family martial arts.
According to the traditions of Daitō-ryū, it was these arts which Takeda Sokaku began teaching to non-members of the family in the late 19th century. Takeda had also studied swordsmanship and spearmanship with his father, Takeda Sokichi, as well as Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū as an uchi-deshi (live-in student) under the renowned swordsman Sakakibara Kenkichi. During his life, Sokaku traveled extensively to attain his goal of preserving his family's traditions by spreading Daitō-ryū throughout Japan.
Takeda Sokaku's third son, Tokimune Takeda (武田 時宗 Takeda Tokimune, 1916–1993), became the headmaster of the art following Sokaku's death in 1943. Tokimune taught what he called , an art that included the sword techniques of the Ono-ha Ittō-ryū along with the traditional techniques of Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu. It was also under Tokimune's headmastership that modern dan rankings were first created and awarded to the students of Daitō-ryū. Tokimune Takeda died in 1993 leaving no official successor, but a few of his high-ranking students, such as Katsuyuki Kondo (近藤 勝之 Kondō Katsuyuki, 1945–) and Shigemitsu Kato, now head their own Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu organizations.
Aiki-jūjutsu
Aiki-jūjutsu can be broken into three styles: jujutsu (hard); aiki no jutsu (soft); and the combined aikijujutsu (hard/soft). Modern aikido originated in aikijujutsu, which emphasizes "an early neutralization of an attack". Like other forms of jujutsu, it emphasizes throwing techniques and joint manipulations to effectively subdue or injure an attacker. Of particular importance is the timing of a defensive technique either to blend or to neutralize an attack's effectiveness and to use the force of the attacker's movement against him. Daitō-ryū is characterized by ample use of atemi, or the striking of vital areas, to set up jointlocking or throwing tactics.
Some of the art's striking methods employ the swinging of the outstretched arms to create power and to hit with the fists at deceptive angles, as may be observed in techniques such as the atemi that sets up gyaku ude-dori (reverse elbow lock). Tokimune Takeda regarded one of the unique characteristics of the art to be its preference for controlling a downed attacker's joints with one's knee to leave one's hands free to access weapons or to deal with the threat of other attackers.
Branches
Currently, there are a number of organizations that teach Daitō-ryū, each tracing their lineage back to Takeda Sokaku through one of six of his students. Those six students are: Takeda Tokimune, the progenitor of the Tokimune branch; Takuma Hisa (久 琢磨 Hisa Takuma, 1895–1980), of the Hisa branch; Kōdō Horikawa (堀川 幸道 Horikawa Kōdō, 1894–1980), of the Horikawa branch; Toshimi ‘Hosaku’ Matsuda (1895 - ?) kyoju-dairi 教授代理 of the Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu Shobukai ;Yukiyoshi Sagawa (Sagawa Yukiyoshi, 1902–1998), of the Sagawa branch, and Somekichi Kobayashi (1901–1999), of the Kobayashi branch.
Tokimune
The Tokimune branch descends from the teachings of Tokimune Takeda, the son of Takeda Sokaku, and designated successor of Daitō-ryū upon the father's death. When Tokimune died, he had not appointed a successor; there are two main groups that carry on his teachings.
The first group is led by Katsuyuki Kondō, who began his training under Tsunejiro Hosono and continued training under Kōtarō Yoshida (吉田 幸太郎 Yoshida Kōtarō, 1883–1966) for a time, before being introduced to Tokimune. On the basis of the high level teaching licenses Kondo was granted by Tokimune, his followers represent his school as the Daitō-ryū "mainline". Kondo has done much to increase the visibility of the art by hosting seminars both in Tokyo and abroad, especially in Europe and the United States. In the last years many Branches were created all over the world. The biggest groups are located in Italy (under Alex Muracchini and Luca Canovi), Russia (under Evgeny Bodrenko and Stanislav Kopin), Netherlands (Robert Breedveld,Niels van Willigen, Anton Brandregt, and Ilse van der Hoeven), Slovakia (under Stephan Kurilla). In the USA there are also several Branch dōjōs such as Derek Steel in Philadelphia, Mark Sumi in Los Angeles and Jose Garrido in the New York City Metro area. In the United Kingdom there is a study group in Suffolk (under Oran Redmond). Australia study group is led by Rachael Crompton in Sidney. Switzerland’s study groups are led by Pascal Badan (Lausanne) and Selahattin Ak (Zürich).
The second group from the Tokimune branch is headed by Shigemitsu Kato and Gunpachi Arisawa, who are long-time students and teachers from Tokimune's original Daitokan headquarters in Hokkaidō. This organization is called the . They maintain a smaller organization in Hokkaidō, with strong connections to practitioners in Europe (especially Italy), the United States, and Brazil.
Hisa
The second major branch of Daitō-ryū is represented by students of Takuma Hisa. His students banded together and founded the . They have a wealth of materials in the form of film and still photographs, taken at the Asahi Newspaper dōjō, recording the Daitō-ryū techniques taught to them, first by Morihei Ueshiba and then later by Takeda Sokaku directly. One of their major training manuals, called the Sōden, features techniques taught to them by both masters.
The Takumakai represents the second largest aiki-jūjutsu organization. The current director is Mori Hakaru assisted by honorary director is Chiba Tsugutaka, and the manager is Kobayashi Kiyohiro. Chiba Tsugutaka, who proposed the idea of naming the organization "Takumakai", also spent some time training at the Daito-kan in Hokkaido under Takeda Tokimune.
In the 1980s, led by Shogen Okabayashi (Okabayashi Shogen, born 1949-2018), who was sent by the elderly Hisa to train under the headmaster, the Takumakai made a move to implement the forms for teaching the fundamentals of the art as originally established by Tokimune Takeda. This move upset some preservers of Hisa's original teaching method, leading to the formation of a new organization called the Daibukan, founded by a long term student of Hisa, Kenkichi Ohgami (Ōgami Kenkichi, born 1936). Later, in order to implement greater changes to the curriculum, Okabayashi himself chose to separate from the Takumakai and formed the Hakuho-ryu.
Horikawa
The Horikawa branch descends from the teachings of Kōdō Horikawa. A few organizations have been formed based on his teachings.
The was founded by students of Horikawa, whose distinctive interpretation of aiki movements can be seen in the movements of his students. The Kodokai is located in Hokkaidō and is headed by Yusuke Inoue (Inoue Yasuke, born 1932). Both Inoue's father and his main teacher, Horikawa, were direct students of Takeda Sokaku. Inoue received his teaching license (Menkyo Kaiden) in accordance with Horikawa's final wishes.
There are two major teachers who branched off from the Kodokai to establish their own traditions. The first was Seigō Okamoto (岡本 正剛 Okamoto Seigō, 1925-2015) who founded the . His interpretation of aiki and minimal movement throws. The organization has a great following abroad, especially in the United States and Europe. Another group was that of Katsumi Yonezawa (米沢 克巳 Yonezawa Katsumi, 1937–1998), who founded his own organization, called the . In the early 1970s, while Yonezawa was still a senior teacher at the Kodokai, he was the first person to bring Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu to the United States and Canada. The Bokuyōkan is currently run by his son Hiromitsu Yonezawa (Yonezawa Hiromitsu), headquartered in Hokkaidō, with a following at the Yonezawa dojo and several branches in the United States, as well as a dojo in Germany.
Sagawa
The last major group consists of students of Yukiyoshi Sagawa (佐川 幸義, Sagawa Yukiyoshi, 1902–1998), who was once considered to be the successor to Takeda Sokaku (should Tokimune not have survived World War II). Sagawa ran only a single dojo and taught a relatively small number of students. He began studying Daitō-ryū under Takeda Sokaku in 1914 after first learning the art from his father, Sagawa Nenokichi (1867–1950), who was also a student of Sokaku and a holder of a Kyōju Dairi (teaching license) in the system. Although considered by many to be one of the most accomplished students of Sokaku, Yukiyoshi Sagawa received the kyoju dairi in 1932—but did not receive the menkyo kaiden (certificate of mastery) of the system's secrets, as during the time he practised under Takeda Sokaku, the highest licence was not the menkyo kaiden. Sagawa often served as a teaching assistant to Takeda and traveled with him to various locations in Japan teaching Daito-ryu. He further developed the art of applying Aiki and is said to have remained powerful until very late in life, and – as a consequence of the success of Transparent Power – was featured in a series of articles in the Aiki News magazines prior to his death in 1998.
Tatsuo Kimura (木村 達雄 Kimura Tatsuo, born 1947), a former mathematics professor at the University of Tsukuba and a senior student of Sagawa, ran a small aiki-jūjutsu study group at that institution. He retired from his professorship there in June 2013, and has retired from public instruction of Daito Ryu. He now privately instructs a small group of students. He has written two books about his training under Sagawa: Transparent Power and Discovering Aiki.
Daisuke Nagano, a descendant of Narimasa Nagano and noted Master of Asayama Ichiden Ryu under Yukio Nakamura and senior student of Sagawa, taught at Koikikawa Dojo near Tokyo and often taught United States military servicemen stationed in Okinawa in the 1970s. In the 1997 a branch dedicated to Nagano sensei's teachings called "Nagano Ryu Heihou Kyokai" was founded by his most senior student Jamie Ellerbe.
Kobayashi
Somekichi Kobayashi, a descendant of Hirohito Kobayashi, ran only a small dojo and taught a relatively small number of students. He began studying Daitō-ryū under Takeda Sokaku in 1923. Kobayashi went many times to France giving clinics at La Baule Martial Arts Camps with Fukami Sensei Judo Coach of the French Team. One of his students , Jean-Luc Moreau Kudan, headmaster and cofounder of this style, started to study with him in France and many times in Japan. To enlarge his view and knowledge, Jean-Luc Moreau also studied different martial arts (Judo, Karate, Kendo, Ko-Budo…) under other great teachers such as: Ichiro Abe, 10th Dan (Kodokan), Head Kata Instructor at the Kodokan , Minoru Mochizuki, (1907-2003) – Founder of Yoseikan Budo Aikido, Hiroo Mochizuki, (1936-) – Current Head of Yoseikan Budo Aikido Taiji Kase, (1929 – 2004) – 9th Dan Shotokan Karate, Tadashi Abe, (1926-1984) – Pioneer of Aikido in France and Europe , Takeda Tokimune, (1915-1993) – 36th Soke, Daito-Ryu AikiJujutsu, Gozo Shioda, (1915-1994) – Founder of Yoshinkan Aikido.
Aiki concept
Takeda Sokaku defined aiki in the following way:
Tokimune Takeda, speaking on the same subject during an interview explained in more detail about the concept of aiki:
Classification of techniques
Daitō-ryū techniques involve both jujutsu and aiki-jūjutsu applications. Techniques are broken up into specific lists which are trained sequentially; that is, a student will not progress to the next "catalogue" of techniques until he/she has mastered the previous one. Upon completion of each catalogue, a student is awarded a certificate or scroll that lists all of the techniques of that level. These act as levels of advancement within the school, and was a common system among classical Japanese martial arts schools before the era of belts, grades, and degrees.
The first category of techniques in the system, the shoden waza, is not devoid of aiki elements, though it emphasizes the more direct jujutsu joint manipulation techniques. The second group of techniques, the aiki-no-jutsu, tends to emphasize the utilization of one's opponent's movement or intention in order to subdue him/her—usually with a throwing or a pinning technique. A list of the catalogues in the Tokimune branch's system and the number of techniques contained within follows:
Officially, the Daitō-ryū system is said to comprise thousands of techniques, divided into omote and ura (literally, 'front' and 'back' versions), but many of these could be seen as variations upon the core techniques. In addition, Sokaku and Tokimune awarded scrolls denoting certain portions of the curriculum, such as techniques utilizing the long and short sword.
To the list above, the Takumakai adds the "Daito-ryu Aiki Nito-ryu Hiden". The Takumakai also makes substantial use of the photographic documents of techniques taught at the Asahi Newspaper dojo by Morihei Ueshiba and Takeda Sokaku, which are compiled into a series of 11 training manuals called the Sōden.
Influence
The significant interest in this martial art, which has much in common with the many less popular classical Japanese jujutsu schools, is probably due largely to the success of Takeda Sokaku's student Morihei Ueshiba, and the art that he founded, aikido. Aikido is practised internationally and has hundreds of thousands of adherents. Many of those interested in aikido have traced the art's origins back to Daitō-ryū, which has increased the level of interest in an art which was otherwise virtually unknown a few decades before.
Aikido's influence was significant even in its early years, prior to World War II, when Ueshiba was teaching a more overtly combative form closer to Daitō-ryū. One of the main conduits of the influence of Ueshiba's pre-war aiki-jūjutsu was Kenji Tomiki, founder of Shodokan Aikido. Tomiki was already ranked 5th dan in judo when he began studying under Ueshiba. Today's goshin jutsu kata, or "forms of self defense" (created in 1956 by a team of experts after Kanō Jigorō's death, and thus not belonging to original judo), preserve these teachings, as does Tomiki's own organization of Shodokan Aikido.
Related arts
The concept of aiki is an old one, and was common to other classical Japanese schools of armed combat. There are some other styles of Japanese jujutsu that use the term aiki-jūjutsu, but there are no records of its use prior to the Meiji era. Many modern schools influenced by aikido presently utilize the term to describe their use of aikido-like techniques with a more combative mindset.
There are a number of martial arts in addition to aikido which appear, or claim, to be descended from the art of Daitō-ryū or the teachings of Takeda Sōkaku. Among them are: the Korean martial art of hapkido founded by Choi Yong-sool, who claims to have been trained under Takeda Sokaku; Choi gave two versions of his story, one in 1962 and another completely different one in 1982. Hakkō-ryū founded by Okuyama Yoshiharu, who trained under Takeda Sokaku; and Shorinji Kempo, founded by Nakano Michiomi (later known as So Doshin), who is known to have trained under Okuyama. Additionally, Icho-ryū – an offshoot designed for police defense is practiced widely in Washington state. Many techniques from Hakko-ryu are similar to the techniques of Daitō-ryu. Certain styles of Karate also use joint manipulation and locking techniques.
American Yoshinkan Aiki Jujutsu is a Gendai art of Jujutsu that was founded by Hasaka Yutashi Sensei, according to the testimony of Steven Hatfield, who claims to have inherited the art from him. There are no records of Yutashi in American or Japanese records. His name does not appear at all in any Daito Ryu records. No one not affiliated with Hatfield in some way has ever seemed to have met him. Hasaka Yutashi is not a Japanese name, and while Hatfield and Gordon claim to have proof that he existed, they have refused to show it to those who have asked. They now claim that he was in hiding from some threat they will not explain and can't give his real name for fear of what might happen to his family. This art, which is not listed in any Japanese source, is said to have been passed down to Steven Hatfield and now Bret Gordon, based on their stories. According to them, Hasaka Sensei was a very private man and taught many students over his life span but due to his personal beliefs he felt it was best to teach a manner that was best to fit each student independently sometimes following the old teaching ways of Takada Sensei teach a Waza and allow the student to work through it and very seldom reteach that waza. However, it is true that there isn't any information on Hasaka other than information provided by Hatfield and Gordon. According to Hatfield, Hasaka grew up in the martial arts learning many different styles of martial arts later developing his own martial art that he shared with the public, The art had many of names until he settled on the name American Yoshinkan Aiki Jujutsu it was important that he showed respect to his teachers and history while adding his own touch to the art, thus American Yoshinkan Aiki Jujutsu was born. It is not fully clear how long he would study Daito Ryu in the 1960s and '70s but Htfield and Gordon claim there is a strong Daito presence within this Jujutsu art. There is no mention of Yoshinkan aikijutsu in Japanese sources. Hasaka, according to them, must have also studied Yoshinkan Aikido briefly with Shioda Gozo at some point within his lifetime due to the very distinct footwork within then art. Shioda was a fellow student of Horikawa around 1977-78 after Horikawa visited his Tokyo dojo, and so Hasaka sensei (if he existed) had the opportunity to pick up information and techniques during his visit. However, Shioda would have the most impact and influence so greatly that his art became the inspiration for the name. American Yoshinkan Aiki Jujutsu is a modern hybrid jujutsu art, that embodies many different styles of Aiki Budo and Karate all wrapped into a specific functional martial art that offer a little bit of both modern with a classical feel.
Schools and derivative arts
Aikido
Hontai Hakkei Ryu Aikijujutsu
Yoseikan Budō
Hakkō-ryū
Hakkō Denshin-ryū
Yanagi-ryū Aiki Bugei
Hapkiyusul
Hapkido
Combat Hapkido
Hwa Rang Do
Jishukan Ryu
Fudoshin-ryu
Small Circle Jujutsu
Notable practitioners
Masao Tonedate
Takuma Hisa
Takeda Tokimune
Morihei Ueshiba
Kōtarō Yoshida
Kodo Horikawa
Toshimi Matsuda
Mounir Mekdouh
Yukiyoshi Sagawa
Choi Yong-Sool
See also
Japanese martial arts
References
Further reading
Profiles of several teachers mentioned above.
Essay on Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu succession (PDF)
On training with Yukiyoshi Sagawa
Pranin, Stan. Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu: Conversations with Daito-ryu Masters. Aiki News, 1996. .
Kimura, Tatsuo. Transparent Power - A Secret Teaching Revealed; The Extraordinary Martial Artist Yukiyoshi Sagawa. MAAT Press, 2009. .
External links
Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu - Katsuyuki Kondo's organization
Takumakai - Takuma Hisa's organization
- Kodokai - Horikawa Kodo's organization (Japan)
- Kodokai - Horikawa Kodo's organization (America)
Daitokai - Shigemitsu Kato's organization
Daibukan - Kenkichi Ohgami's organization
Hakuho-ryu - Shogen Okabayashi's organization
Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu Roppokai - Seigo Okamoto's organization
Documentary on the Tokyo branch of the Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu Takumakai
Information of Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu dojos worldwide
Daito-ryu aikijujutsu Muden juku Japan
Daito-ryu aikijujutsu Muden juku Ireland
Daito-ryu aikijujutsu Muden juku portugal
Daito-ryu aikijujutsu Muden juku US
Daito-Ryu Aikijujutsu Renshinkan Japan
Daito-Ryu Aikijujutsu Matsuda den Shobukai - Shidokai Italy
Jujutsu
Japanese martial arts